Negativity bias: how to stop negative thinking
Negative thinking is something that everyone does. Even you business owners have it. We all can really suffer from it. Negative thinking is a habit that most of us have built to perfection. At least, I hope so; otherwise, I’m the only one here, and I’m not giving away my big secret that I may have instead kept to myself if I was the only one. My way of thinking can be one big rabbit hole where I can get lost, especially when it is the middle of the night.
Our brain is wired to focus on the bad things that we did, the things we’ve said, the blunders we had, and the mistakes we made. We call the negativity bias, and it’s based on an ancient brain pattern to help us survive.
What is the negativity bias?
The negativity bias (or negative bias) is that we can dwell on situations with many self-criticisms. “I blew it with that prospect when I said …” or “I wish I had never sent them that report with the huge mistake in it.” Or an even better one: “I’ll never be able to work in my own business because of …” When that happens, your brain sinks its teeth into the thought and keeps on rehashing it until you’re exhausted or in tears. Or both.
The negativity bias has an enormous impact on what we do because when you’re stuck in that loop of dark thoughts, it pulls everything down: the people you connect with, the work you do, and even how you behave.
Where does it originate?
The negativity bias comes from negative thought patterns that come from dangerous times. It could be lethal to make mistakes, get thrown out of the tribe, or not react quickly enough when being attacked. When you think of that, our lives have improved significantly over the last century because I haven’t seen any saber-toothed tiger sneaking through my street lately – and I spend quite some time at my desk that it turned toward the street.
Even though we mentally know that our lives aren’t that dangerous (generally spoken), our brain isn’t up to date with that. It still runs on the survival patterns where it is smarter to remember negative experiences to find the lesson in it. And it is also “smarter” to remember insults and critique, so you know what to do to keep others as friends.
How negative thinking influences your business
Negative thinking influences your business in ways you often don’t even notice. Have you ever felt cautious of a particular client and wait and see which way the winds blow? If you do that all the time, you may have negative thinking on a lower level that you don’t even notice anymore. You keep people at bay so they can’t harm you. On the positive side, you may have developed good intuition that way—intuition to keep out of harm.
At the same time, you’re not fully present with what you’re doing, and people sense that and turn it into an opinion about you. Now, I don’t mind people having an opinion about me, but when it results in them stop hiring me, that’s when I do start to mind. That’s when it hurts my business (or it should be because we’ve moved our relationship out of alignment – everything is possible).
Link with the Akashic Records
It is interesting to see what people repeatedly rehash often link to their Divine Soul Blueprint in the Akashic Records. In that Divine Soul Blueprint, you find who you are at origination. It also tells them what they need, like oxygen. Not being able to meet themselves in those needs is throwing them into unhappy, negative thinking.
When you know what you need to align with life, you also know the polarity which makes you unhappy. Feeling unhappy is an excellent foundation for negative thoughts. Coupled with some ancient brain patterns of survival (the negativity bias), you can rehash stories and thoughts and mess up relationships you’ve built for a long time.
Examples from my personal life
Let me illustrate that with an example from my personal life. From my Divine Soul Blueprint, I know that I need two things like oxygen: communication in any form – either interpersonal, direct interaction, or writing, where I talk about my thoughts, ideas, and what I’ve learned (like this blog). When my attempts for communication fall on deaf ears, it can make me feel powerless and depressed. These feelings don’t happen anymore, but they were a theme throughout my past career. When I notice that this happens, I need to redirect. When I don’t, I’ll be rehashing the situation over and over until I’m exhausted.
Another aspect (as I have two Energy Centers) that I need, like oxygen, is that I need to feel free to make my own decisions. Having a business is perfect for me because it provides me with the position in which decisions are being made. I don’t need to be ‘in charge’ all the time, but I need to be able to influence the process.
But there is something as well that needs to be kept in the forefront of your mind. When negative thinking has gone underground and so prevalent that you’ve turned down the volume, you tend to make the wrong decisions. They seem right decisions, but after some time, it turns out that they could have been stronger.
My mom understood that part of me very well, and I’ve remembered her advice always: “You are free to choose. When you make a choice that didn’t work out the way you thought it would just choose again.” Redirect. Just choose.
Three things you can do to stop negative thinking
Stopping negative thinking is not a cut-and-dry solution. Since there are negative thinking patterns involved that have carved out river beds in your brain, you need a lot of practice to change it.
- Know and understand your Divine Soul Blueprint.
Knowing and understanding who you are is essential. Since getting introduced to the Akashic Records, my life has shifted. It has become much easier for me to ask: does this bring me the freedom to express myself? If not, I can decide if I want to be around the situation any longer. - Practice daily.
When you recognize a thought that creates stress and limit, acknowledge yourself: “I notice that I’m rehashing that sales conversation with that client again and that it’s making me upset.” - Challenge yourself
After you’ve acknowledged yourself, challenge yourself and ask: “Is what I’m telling myself true? Am I really horrible at selling? Or did that person say that this was not their best moment but to call them back in three months?” The minimum you’re aiming for here is to doubt the story you were telling yourself (“Maybe it wasn’t all thát bad”). This way, you create new thought patterns in your brain. It leaves you with less overwhelm and more energy left to try again.
It’s the whole process that you need to practice over and over. That is why I’ve always said that being in business is the most significant self-development journey you can gift yourself. Sooner or later, you’ll notice that things become more comfortable.
Have any thoughts and ideas? I love hearing them. Post them below!
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